Echinacea, commonly known as purple coneflower, is a medicinal plant which comes from the Asteraceae family. It is a genus of nine herbaceous plants. Herbaceous, or herb, are plants that have leaves and stems that die down at the end of growing season to the soil level. The Echinacea is an angiosperm, eudicot, and asteroid type of plant.[1]
Echinacea purpura "maxima"
Echinacea grows mostly in moist to dry prairies and open wooded areas. These plants have large heads of composite flowers which bloom from early to late summer. All of these plants are endemic to eastern and central North American. Echinacae, its genus name, comes from the Greek word, echino, for “spiny” due to the plant's spiny central disk.[2]
The Asteraceae family is the second largest of flowering plants (in terms of number of species).
Carduus Flower Diagram
The family consists of herbs, shrubs, and some trees. Some estimates state the Asteraeceae family is compromised of 1,100 genera and 20,000 species. The family is characteristic to having inflorescences, which only a few other angiosperm families have. The flowers in this family has flowers which are organized along the head of the plant. The fruit is an achene (or cypsela).[3]
The Asteraceae family is also sometimes referred to as the Compositae. This is an older name for the family. This title means composite and refers to the inflorescences of the Asteracae family. Plants of this family are usually found in temperate regions and tropical mountains. The echinacea is in the Heliantheae tribe. This tribe is very large within the family and can have up as many as 24 subtribes.[4]
Description
Echinacea plants ar
Echinacea flower head
e perennial plants that enjoy to grow in full sun. They have a low drought tolerance. These plants can grow up to three feet tall.[5] They also grow from fibrous roots -- these are large, free-branching and dense roots.[6] The stems are hard and the leaves usually have hair along their entire length.[7]
The flowers of Echinacea plants are inflorescences. An inflorencences, which is characteristic to all plants in the Asteracea family, are a cluster of flowers on a stem attached to a main branch.
The petals are usually a reddish-purple (or rarely yellow or white) blossoms, arranged in a somewhat cone like shape. The flowers are described as cone shaped because the outward petals point downward. The seeds of the echinacea come from the cone of the plant, and are typically small and dark. The seeds are usually four sided.[8]
Most Common and Used of Species
E. Angustifolia
E. Atrorubens
E. Pallida
Native Americans - History, Use & Geography
Echinacea originated in eastern and central North America to the Plains Indians. The narrow leaf coneflower, Echinacea angustifolia, was widely used by the Plains Indians for its herbal and theraputic qualities. Native peoples were the first to discover the health benefits of the plant. The Meskwaki tribe of Native Americans referred to echinacea as "The hairs of Grandmother Earth's Head." Other Dakota Native Americans used it as a smoke treatment for headache and and even to distemper in horses. The Omaha Tribe macerated and used the root to treat snakebites as well.[9]
Although Native peoples did not use echinacea for curing the common cold, many tribes used the plant for what could have been early symptoms of the cold. Tribes such as the Cheyenne and Comanche of the Great Plains and other tribes used it for many ailments, including sore throats and coughs.[10]
Later, the plant was used by Europeans and Americans during the 19th century and into the 20th century to treat snakebite or other diseases (such as diphtheria). In the 1920's the popular use of the plant diminished as sulfa drugs and other antibiotics were introduced to treat infections. [11]
Distribution
Native Status: Echinaceaangustifolia DC.
Native Origins
Distribution: Echinaceaangustifolia DC.
US Distribution
Human & Medicinal Uses
Echinacea root extract is most traditionally used to fight the common cold, flu or other common infections. It has also been used to stimulate or boost the immune system to fight such infections. Less commonly, can be used to treat minor skin ailments in the form of ointment.[12]
These marketed medicinal products include several types of echinacea species and different organs, such as the roots and herbs. Medicinal echinacea also comes in different preparations, such as extracts, tablets, liquids, or creams. The plant has also recently been used in herbal teas, dried or fresh, to promote overall health. Echinacea extract is also used in various vitamins and minerals.[13]
Echinacea Tablets
Liquid Drops
Skin Ointment
Echinacea Herbal Tea
Echinacea In Aromatherapy
Herbal Candles
Recently, it has become popular for spas to use echinacea in their aromatherapy practices. Namely, the herb echincae is being used to produce candles. These echinacea candles are also supposed to have healing powers. Aromatherapy is a treatment that helps care for the human body using pleasant smelling botanical oils. It is a science that uses natural plant essences that are extracted from plants, barks, grass, seeds, flowers and fruits of the plant kingdom. Echinacea is an example of such an herb that is being used because of its therapeutic qualities. It is believed that echinacea candles, like the other medicinal products using the plant, can help to boost the immune system.[14]
ECHINACEA
(Echinacea purpurea)
Echinacea, commonly known as purple coneflower, is a medicinal plant which comes from the Asteraceae family. It is a genus of nine herbaceous plants. Herbaceous, or herb, are plants that have leaves and stems that die down at the end of growing season to the soil level. The Echinacea is an angiosperm, eudicot, and asteroid type of plant.[1]
Specific Classifications:
Kingdom: Plantae
Order: Asterales
Family: Asteraceae
Tribe: Heliantheae
Genus: Echinacea
Asteraceae Family
The Asteraceae family is the second largest of flowering plants (in terms of number of species).
The Asteraceae family is also sometimes referred to as the Compositae. This is an older name for the family. This title means composite and refers to the inflorescences of the Asteracae family. Plants of this family are usually found in temperate regions and tropical mountains. The echinacea is in the Heliantheae tribe. This tribe is very large within the family and can have up as many as 24 subtribes.[4]
Description
Echinacea plants arThe flowers of Echinacea plants are inflorescences. An inflorencences, which is characteristic to all plants in the Asteracea family, are a cluster of flowers on a stem attached to a main branch.
The petals are usually a reddish-purple (or rarely yellow or white) blossoms, arranged in a somewhat cone like shape. The flowers are described as cone shaped because the outward petals point downward. The seeds of the echinacea come from the cone of the plant, and are typically small and dark. The seeds are usually four sided.[8]
Most Common and Used of Species
Native Americans - History, Use & Geography
Echinacea originated in eastern and central North America to the Plains Indians. The narrow leaf coneflower, Echinacea angustifolia, was widely used by the Plains Indians for its herbal and theraputic qualities. Native peoples were the first to discover the health benefits of the plant. The Meskwaki tribe of Native Americans referred to echinacea as "The hairs of Grandmother Earth's Head." Other Dakota Native Americans used it as a smoke treatment for headache and and even to distemper in horses. The Omaha Tribe macerated and used the root to treat snakebites as well.[9]
Although Native peoples did not use echinacea for curing the common cold, many tribes used the plant for what could have been early symptoms of the cold. Tribes such as the Cheyenne and Comanche of the Great Plains and other tribes used it for many ailments, including sore throats and coughs.[10]
Later, the plant was used by Europeans and Americans during the 19th century and into the 20th century to treat snakebite or other diseases (such as diphtheria). In the 1920's the popular use of the plant diminished as sulfa drugs and other antibiotics were introduced to treat infections. [11]
Distribution
Native Status:
Echinacea angustifolia DC.
Distribution:
Echinacea angustifolia DC.
Human & Medicinal Uses
Echinacea root extract is most traditionally used to fight the common cold, flu or other common infections. It has also been used to stimulate or boost the immune system to fight such infections. Less commonly, can be used to treat minor skin ailments in the form of ointment.[12]
These marketed medicinal products include several types of echinacea species and different organs, such as the roots and herbs. Medicinal echinacea also comes in different preparations, such as extracts, tablets, liquids, or creams. The plant has also recently been used in herbal teas, dried or fresh, to promote overall health. Echinacea extract is also used in various vitamins and minerals.[13]
Echinacea In Aromatherapy
Recently, it has become popular for spas to use echinacea in their aromatherapy practices. Namely, the herb echincae is being used to produce candles. These echinacea candles are also supposed to have healing powers. Aromatherapy is a treatment that helps care for the human body using pleasant smelling botanical oils. It is a science that uses natural plant essences that are extracted from plants, barks, grass, seeds, flowers and fruits of the plant kingdom. Echinacea is an example of such an herb that is being used because of its therapeutic qualities. It is believed that echinacea candles, like the other medicinal products using the plant, can help to boost the immune system.[14]
Extras
References
[1] "Eastern Purple Coneflower" United States Department of Agriculture, Plant Fact Sheet. Web. 07 Dec. 2009 <http://plants.usda.gov/factsheet/pdf/fs_ecpu.pdf>
[2] "Echinacea." University of Maryland Medical Center. Web. 03 Dec. 2009. <http://www.umm.edu/altmed/articles/echinacea-000239.htm>.
[3] "Flowering Plant Families, UH Botany." Welcome to University of Hawaii at Manoa Botany. Web. 06 Dec. 2009. <http://www.botany.hawaii.edu/Faculty/Carr/aster.htm>
[4] "Flowering Plant Families, UH Botany." Welcome to University of Hawaii at Manoa Botany. Web. 06 Dec. 2009. <http://www.botany.hawaii.edu/Faculty/Carr/heliantheae.htm>.
[5] "Eastern Purple Coneflower" United States Department of Agriculture, Plant Fact Sheet. Web. 07 Dec. 2009 <http://plants.usda.gov/factsheet/pdf/fs_ecpu.pdf>
[6] "ECHINACEA PLANT NAMED 'MISTRAL' - Patent application - Echinacea cultivar particularly distinguished by its extremely compact growth red-purple flowers." Internet FAQ Archives - Online Education. Web. 06 Dec. 2009. <http://www.faqs.org/patents/app/20090271902>.
[7] "Eastern Purple Coneflower" United States Department of Agriculture, Plant Fact Sheet. Web. 07 Dec. 2009 <http://plants.usda.gov/factsheet/pdf/fs_ecpu.pdf>
[8] "Eastern Purple Coneflower" United States Department of Agriculture, Plant Fact Sheet. Web. 07 Dec. 2009 <http://plants.usda.gov/factsheet/pdf/fs_ecpu.pdf>
[9] "Echinacea." Welcome to stason.org. Web. 06 Dec. 2009. <http://stason.org/TULARC/health/herbs/reference/Echinacea.html>.
[10] "Echinacea: More Than a Pretty Flower | Garden Guides." Garden Guides, Your Guide to Everything Gardening. Web. 03 Dec. 2009. <http://www.gardenguides.com/8-echinacea-pretty-flower.html>.
[11] "Echinacea - Native American Medicine of the Prairies" Native American Botanics. Web. 07 Dec. 2009. <http://www.nativeamericanbotanics.com/docs_infosheet_echinacea.pdf>
[12] "Echinacea [NCCAM Herbs at a Glance]." National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine [NCCAM] - nccam.nih.gov Home Page. Web. 06 Dec. 2009. <http://nccam.nih.gov/health/echinacea/ataglance.htm#cautions>.
[13] "Echinacea." University of Maryland Medical Center. Web. 06 Dec. 2009. <http://www.umm.edu/altmed/articles/echinacea-000239.htm>.
[14] "Echinacea Aromatherapy Candles." All Day Spas. Web. 08 Dec. 2009. <http://www.alldayspas.com/echinacea-aromatherapy-candles.php>.
Other used sites:
http://plants.usda.gov/java/profile?symbol=ECPU&mapType=nativityphotoID=ecpu_002_avp.tif